Cúirt International Festival of Literature 2018 is just around the corner with a brilliant range of literary events.

Young, Irish, Displaced: Andrew Meehan & Elizabeth Reapy

Friday, April 27 @ 1:00 pm |€10

Andrew Meehan‘s first short story won the Cúirt New Writing Prize in 2010, while other work was anthologised in Town and Country: The Faber Book of New Irish Stories and Winter Papers. In 2017 his first novel One Star Awake was published to great acclaim by New Island Books.

“Mesmerising, inventive, heart-wrenching, and brilliantly realised. The most interesting début of 2017.” THE IRISH EXAMINER

E.M. Reapy is from Mayo and has an MA in Creative Writing from Queen’s University, Belfast. In 2016 her début novel Red Dirt was published by Head of Zeus. It won Newcomer of the Year at the 2016 Irish Book Awards and the 2017 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.

“Red Dirt is timely in its subject matter – the migration of Ireland’s young generation – inventively narrated in three voices (‘Me’, ‘You’ and ‘Them’), and displays a sure footed mastery of the novel form.” JONATHAN WILLIAMS

This event will be chaired by Mike McCormack, award- winning novelist and short story writer from Mayo. In 2016 he won the Goldsmiths Prize and the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award for best novel for Solar Bones.

Juan Pablo Villalobos & Patrick McCabe

Friday, April 27 @ 8:00 pm |€14

Juan Pablo Villalobos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1973. He is the author of Down the Rabbit Hole, Quesadillas, and I’ll Sell You a Dog, all published by And Other Stories, and translated into many languages. He writes for several Spanish and English-language publications, and translates Brazilian literature into Spanish. He lives in Barcelona and is married with two Mexican- Brazilian-Italian-Catalan children.

“One of the wittiest, most whimsical, most enjoyable novels to have been published in Spanish for a long time.” ALBERTA MANGUEL, THE GUARDIAN ON I’LL SELL YOU A DOG

Patrick McCabe was born in Clones, Co. Monaghan in 1955. His many published novels include The Dead School and The Butcher Boy. The director and novelist Neil Jordan has adapted two of his novels The Butcher Boy and Breakfast on Pluto into films. His novel Heartland which he describes as an “outlaw country song” and “electric hillbilly opera” is available now from New Island.

This event has kindly been sponsored by Galway Business School and Galway Cultural Institute.

June Caldwell & Kelly Creighton

Saturday, April 28 @ 4:00 pm |€10

Kelly Creighton is a novelist, short story writer and poet. Her books include Bank Holiday Hurricane, The Bones of It and Three Primes. Kelly’s work has been noted in many competitions. She founded and edits The Incubator literary journal, which showcases the contemporary Irish short story. She is a recipient of the 2018 Arts Council of Northern Ireland ACES scheme.

“Distinctive, powerful and filled, at times, with an electric high-wire tension, they contain a lyricism that comes at you sideways and will knock the wind right out of you.” Bernie McGill on Kelly Creighton

June Caldwell worked for many years as a freelance journalist and now writes fiction. Room Little Darker, her acclaimed collection of short stories, was published by New Island in 2017 and is now available from Head of Zeus. Her story ‘SOMAT’ was published in the award-winning anthology The Long Gaze Back, and was chosen as a favourite by The Sunday Times. June’s first novel, Little Town Moone, is forthcoming from John Murray.

“The book amounts to an unsparing portrait of a city and a nation, with a singular voice heard throughout, lost in grief and longing, interrogating every motive and intention. It is banshee bold.” Ian Sansom, The Guardian on Room Little Darker

Chaired by Celeste Augé author of Fireproof and Other Stories and poetry collections Skip Diving and The Essential Guide to Flight.